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Mother's battle to get daughter's illness diagnosed

A teenager from Great Dunmow in Essex has spoken of her mother's nine year battle to convince people that she was ill.

Kelly Moss has been in and out of hospital since she was 9 but it was only this year that doctors finally managed to diagnose she was suffering from Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

It means her heart rate can rise by 30 beats per minute when she stands.

But it's taken a long time to get to this diagnosis. For the past 9 years Kelly's mum Lorraine has fought to get people to believe her daughter really is ill.

"I was accused of harming my own child, that I was creating her ill health, I was accused of allowing a child to run rings around me and act like she was ill when she was not. I've been accused of everything, from crazy to misguided by a psychiatrist."

Kelly says the prospect of being taken away from her parents was frightening

"I didn't have a childhood. I had to grow up very quickly at the age of 9 with the things I had to deal with. Intermittently, I was at school when I wasn't at school or in hospital. But it was never the same because of all of my experiences, I was an adult from the age of 9."

In a statement Essex county council said:

"...We take our statutory responsibilities to child protection very seriously and have a duty to take appropriate action and intervention when concerns about children and young people are raised. Any action taken will always have the child's interests at the heart of the decision..."

Kelly says she's determined to get a medical degree so she can use her knowledge to prevent this from happening again.

Her mother wants to take Kelly abroad she so can get proper treatment which she believes has been denied her here.